Expect both savory and sweet treats at this new shop.
Bribery Bakery/Facebook

The staff following the bakery's soft opening.
Bribery Bakery/Facebook

After months of torturous anticipation, Bribery Bakery, Jodi Elliott’s long-awaited pastry and bakeshop, finally held its soft opening last week. Just in time for the madness that is SXSW, the Wells Branch Parkway store will hold its grand opening on Wednesday, March 18.

“The soft opening was a chance for us to understand the pace of what it's going to be like every day. For instance, what people will order, how to work the counter, how to box everything up and all the little logistics,” Elliott says. “Our customers have been so supportive since we started the bake sales at Foreign & Domestic, and I’m excited we are finally ready to open.”

Fans of Elliott’s acclaimed bake sales are sure to fall in love with Bribery’s menu, which includes options like cinnamon rolls, chocolate croissants, savory croissants, quiche, pineapple brown butter blondies, chocolate chunk pecan cookies and a number of other savory and sweet delights.

Elliott says the cozy commissary plans to feature a handful of mainstays and a rotating menu of specials. “It’s designed to be diverse and exciting,” Elliott says. “We’ll have items that stay permanently, but I like to switch it up to keep it interesting. We’re actually working on some Cadbury Creme brownies for Easter right now.”

Aside from the exquisite pastries, the store itself is a sight to behold. Pink ikat wallpaper and walls painted robin’s egg blue surround the small space. Accents like shabby chic seating areas, hand-painted tables, fresh flowers and an adorable sprinkles-filled lamp make the space feel like a French country cottage.

In fact, all of the decor was actually handpicked by Elliott, who designed the bakery to look like a home. “Everyone who has seen the bakery says, ‘This place is so you,'” Elliott says. “I had a vision in my head of what I wanted everything to look like, which is why I spent so much time carefully picking and choosing what I wanted to put in it. It was a labor of love.”

The pink and blue palette actually pays homage to two different women: Elliott’s daughter Billie, who adores the color pink, and Elliott’s grandmother, whose favorite color was blue. “My grandmother was the first person who taught me how to bake, so I know none of this would have been possible without her,” Elliott says.

By the end of the year, Elliott plans to open her second Bribery location, which will serve as a bakeshop by day and a plated dessert and cocktail bar by evening. “It’s all happening so fast, but I can’t wait to see what’s in store.”